You're gonna break a lot of hearts

Look at my red hands and my mean face... and I wonder 'bout that man that's gone so wrong.

Tonight I watched The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. It was a slow, brooding type of film, constantly alluding to action but never entirely reaching the hollywood climax. Instead the film moves away from the action-image and on to an engaging and intellectual level- something you don't see so much in outlaw movies. Directed by Andrew Dominik (who also did Chopper), the film puts its cards on the table in its title allowing the action to sit second saddle to the relationships between the characters.  The tension is built around the moments of action through a very beautiful cinematographic aesthetic, impeccable pacing and perfectly played performances (Pitt won Best Actor at the Venice film festival). I wasn't surprised to find the DP, Roger Deakins, was also responsible for a string of fantastic films including a number of Coen Brothers works. Nick Cave's soundtrack is also a major highlight, I have it on a compilation of his work with Warren Ellis called White Lunar. Although this probably isn't a film for when you are struggling with your attention span, it is definitely worth putting the effort in to follow. Every scene has a palpable sense of conflict felt through dramatic and framed compositions (without ever the feeling of it being over-thought).  It was called majestic by critics, and I have to agree. 

the most cruel....

... the most heartless, the most redoubtable moments i've every had were between 4 and 5 oclock am when i suffered a serious lack of espresso. I don't let myself get into that dilemma again.

C.R.A.Z.Y.

I've been spending a lot of time listening tothis soundrack. It's from Quebec film C.R.A.Z.Y, which is one of the films that i constantly rotate in my "favourite film" category (along with Vivre sa Vie, L'avventura and In good Company). Listening to the soundtrack is almost as good as watching the whole film, you can relive the atmosphere of the scene. Also, it is a really good soundtrack- the director put his own money into it and blew $600K on the soundtrack alone.

C.R.A.Z.Y. follows the story of Zac, the fourth of five boys growing up in Montreal in the 60's and 70's. The film shows the relationship between Zac, his brothers and in particular his father, who struggles to deal with the complexities of raising boys in the modern world. All of the boys are different, the book worm, the sporty one, the tough guy and Zac who, because he is the youngest for quite a few years, is considered a mommy's boy and his masculinity is often questioned. This is not helped by the fact that his Catholic mother believes him to be blessed with the gift of healing due to being born on Christmas day and on account of a birthmark in his hair which makes one of his strands of hair white. Zac struggles to find and define himself admist the drugs, promiscuity and freedom of the 70's and against the moralistic Catholic views of his parents. All of this is set against a backdrop of the most definitive songs of the time, perfectly reflecting the crazy times.